Formaldehyde-urea molding composition



Patented Jan. 7, 1 941 FORMALDEHYDE-UREA MOLDING COMPOSITION David E. Cordier, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Plaskon Company, Incorporated, Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application August 9, 1938,

Serial No. 223,942

5 Claims. (Cl. 260-71) The invention relates to formaldehyde-urea molding compositions containing a latent accelerator or curing catalyst.

. When a thermosetting molding composition, 5 such as a formaldehyde-urea composition, is molded under elevated pressure and temperature, it first softens and then hardens at the molding temperature, whereas, a thermoplastic composition remains soft until the molded article has cooled. As a result, an article molded from a thermosetting composition can be removed from the mold after a relatively short time and while the article is still hot, and an article molded from a thermoplastic composition cannot be removed from the mold until it has cooled and'thu-s hardened sufficiently so that it can be handled.

The length of time for which a molding composition must be left in the mold is one of the factors that determines the cost of articles molded from the composition. A composition that must be left in the mold twice as long as another composition requires about twice as much molding equipment for the same volume of production, and hot-molding equipment is expensive.

Formaldehyde-urea molding compositions are thermosetting, but articles molded therefrom must be left in the heated mold for a short time after the article has become hard enough to be removed, in order that a resin of optimum properties may be produced. It has been found that curing the resin by keeping it at the molding temperature for the proper length of time is required to bring out its optimum properties. There is of course a demand for formaldehyde-urea molding compositions for which a relatively short period of curing is necessary.

A latent accelerator in a formaldehyde-urea molding composition is an ingredient that accelerates the curing of the composition without ma- .r rially impairing its stability-in storage at ordirary temperatures. True latent accelerators are i ry rare. They may be alkaline, neutral, or so slightly acid that they do not appreciably acidify ,5 a molding composition when added thereto. It

is believed that they are substances that break up or undergo molecular rearrangement to form acids, but do not do so until the molding temperature is reached. The acids so formed must so be strong enough to serve as catalysts that hasten the curing of the formaldehyde-urea resin.

Formaldehyde-urea molding compositions contain appreciable moisture, and are frequently kept in storage for weeks at a time before being 55 used. Many substances that might be expected to decompose to form acids under molding conditions suffer the same decomposition within a few hours after being intimately mixed with a formaldehyde-urea composition, and are therefore not latent accelerators. Moreover, the be- 5 havior of a substance when present as a minor ingredient in a molding composition and subjected to molding pressures at the molding temperatures of 130 to 160 C. cannot be predicted from its behavior when subjected by itself to tem- 10 peratures of 130 to 160 C. at atmospheric pres, sure. Most of the potentially acid substances that do not impair the stability of a molding composition when incorporated therewith likewise do not accelerate the curing of the composition in 15 the mold.

A substance that materially impairs the stability of a molding composition is a highly undesirable ingredient. The manufacturer of a formaldehyde-urea molding composition must go mold articles for various periods of time at various temperatures and .pressures and carefully test them to determine the molding conditions and curing time required to give the desired results. If a molding composition contains an 25 ingredient that materially impairs the stability of the composition, articles molded from the composition will be inferior, not only because the composition gradually deteriorates during storage, but also because the molding conditions re- 30 quired for producing articles with the desired properties from batches of the composition that have been stored for various periods under ,various conditions are indeterminate.

Although certain halogenated organic com- 35 pounds that liberate hydrobromic and hydrochloric acid when heated have been known to act as latent accelerators when incorporated in formaldehyde-urea molding compositions, accelerators that liberate organic acids are preferable 40 to accelerators that liberate strong inorganic" acids. Certain organic peroxides, such as benzoyl peroxide, have been used heretofore as latent accelerators, but there are many organic pigments that cannot be used in a molding composition containing a peroxide.

The principal object of the invention is to provide formaldehyde-urea molding compositions containing novel'latent accelerators. More specific objects and advantages are apparent from so the description, which merely discloses and illustrates the invention and is not intended to impose limitations upon the claims.

A molding composition embodying .the invention contains a latent accelerator selected from the group consisting of an organic acid having the general formula esterified with borneol, menthol, a polyglycol, or an alcohol having the general formula Y-CHz-OH in which X is phenyl or alkyl phenyl, and Y is alkyl, hydroxy alkyl, alkoxy alkyl, or aroxy alkyl. The preferred accelerators embodying the invention are (1) organic compoundsoi the general formula xs --OCHr-CH1 o in which X is CeHs (phenyl) or CHa-CeH4 (0 or p-tolyl), i. e., the ethyl ester of benzene sulfonic acid or a toluene sulfonic acid, (2) the ester of p-toluene sulfonic acid with borneol, and (3) the mono-ester of p-toluene sulfonic acid with ethylene glycol. Compounds (1) are liquids, but they may be intimately incorporated with a molding composition by prolonged grinding. Compound (3) can be prepared by adding a cold benzene solution of 2 mols of p-toluene sulfonyl chloride slowly to an aqueous solution of 2 mols of potassium hydroxide and 1 mol and vigorous agitation. After about 30 minutes of agitation, the mixture is filtered, and the pre cipitate is washed with benzene and recrystallized from alcohol.

Other latent accelerators embodying the invention are the ester of benzene sulfonic acid with menthol, the ester of p-toluene sulfonic acid with n-pentanol, or phenyl cellosolve and the mono-ester of p-toluene sulfonic acid with diethylene glycol or t'riethylene glycol.

A formaldehyde-urea molding composition of the usual type, consisting primarily of ceilulosic material (40 to 50%) and a formaldehyde-urea reaction product, may be employed.

Example A dried formaldehyde-urea molding composition containing '70 .parts of alpha-cellulose fiber impregnated with parts of a formaldehydeurea reaction product is ground in a ball mill together with 1 part of the mono-ester of ptoluene sulfonic acid with ethylene glycol. The customary modifiers, such as lubricants, opaciflers and coloring matter, may also be added to of glycol, with cooling the ball mill. After an intimate mixture has been obtained in the form of a fine powder, it may be granulated or formed into pellets so that it can be used conveniently for charging molds. The molding is performed under a suitable pressure at a temperature of about C.

Various molding compositions embodying the invention may be prepared to meet various requlrements.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A thermosetting molding composition comprising a formaldehyde-urea reaction product and a latent accelerator selected from the group consistingof organic acids having the general formula esterified with a substance selected from the group consisting of borneol, menthol, polyglycols, and alcohols having the general formula in which X is a member of the group consisting of phenyl and alkyl phenyl, and Y is a member of the group consisting of alkyl, hydroxy alkyl, alkoxy, alkyl, and aroxy alkyl.

2. A formaldehyde-urea molding composition comprising a formaldehyde-urea reaction product, cellulosic material, and a latent accelerator selected from the group consisting of organic acids having the general formula esterified with a substance selected from the group consisting of borneol, menthol, polyglycols, and alcohols having the general formula 

